“Smoke point’ matters when cooking with oils”

What is ‘smoke point’ and why should you care?  Leslie Beck recently posted an article on the Health page of the Globe and Mail that explains what happens when oils reach their smoke point.  “Smoke point refers to the temperature at which an oil starts to burn and smoke. When you cook with oil that’s been heated past its smoke point, you do more than impart a burnt flavour to foods. Beneficial nutrients and phytochemicals found in many unrefined oils are destroyed when the oil is overheated. Overheating also creates harmful free radicals.”  She goes on to explain the factors that affect smoke point and provides a guide to cooking with a wide variety of oils.  With all the interesting oils and fats that are available,  including our Prairie oils such as canola, flax, safflower, sunflower and butter, we thought you might be interested:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/smoke-point-matters-in-cooking-with-oil/article26569060/